Looks like I’ve finally reached the point where I’m sick enough of myself and my excuses to do something.
So, I have a plan for next week. Today is already pretty much over (not a license to eat like a person who doesn’t care about her body), we start over again tomorrow.
I have planned out our dinners. And I will plan my running and gym for next week too. Unless I am lying in the hospital on my last breath, I will be doing both this week.
If you hate food / food planning posts you can stop here and just go directly to the comments and tell me how cool I am.
Dinners Planned:
Sunday – Spaghetti with home made sauce and meatballs *we always make the sauce ourselves and the meatballs are from extra lean beef. We have a tradition of pasta on Sundays, generally when we have the kids (which is this weekend). The sauce is made up of only tomatoes, 1 TBSP of olive oil and fresh italian herbs. This is a fairly healthy dish. It’s the QUANTITY that I can shove down my gullet that gets to me every time.
Monday – couscous, turkey medallions and vegetables * this is one of my healthier go-to dishes when I need to cook. Nothing is really “bad” in this dish. For the vegetables I use red, green and yellow paprika peppers, mushrooms and red onion. This will be sautéed in 1 TBSP coconut oil. Turkey to be marinated a wee bit in some sweet-soy sauce, some chili paste, salt, pepper, garlic.
Tuesday – White fish with rice and haricots verts * usually I use tilapia or pangasius (catfish I think in English). this is covered with 1 TBSP olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic and fresh basil. All that cooked in the pan for a couple of minutes, then a tin of tomato chunks, lemon juice and a wee bit of water is poured over the fish left to simmer for a few minutes. The beans are steamed in the rice cooker with the rice.
Wednesday – chicken stir fry with rice * pretty self explanatory. We buy a bag of stir fry veg to cook this quickly. There is some sweet-soy involved, and some chili paste.
Thursday – I’m not in control of Thursday as hubs is cooking for his study partner. It will be an Indian curry. Always made to adapt to our healthy eating epicness.
Friday – I’m out with friends, hubs is on his own. We’re going to a Burger Bar and then for drinks. For me it will not be an out of control evening because of the fact that I will be in Amsterdam and still have to travel back to Arnhem in the evening. Since our train station is a complete disaster I may even need to leave the city earlier than I normally do just to make it home with alternative transport.
I WILL RUN on these days:
Tuesday
Thursday
*quite possibly Friday with some colleagues at work during the day
I WILL go to the gym on these days:
Monday
Wednesday
I have an appt with my Dietitian on Wednesday and will prepare dinner AFTER I go to the gym. I will go to the gym DIRECTLY after the appointment. Luckily I am working from home that day so there is NO EXCUSE to not go.
I don’t generally need help with my daily food planning because I tend to rotate the same things. I make sure I get my veggies in by either already including them at breakfast, having a huge salad at lunch, or snacking on them throughout the day. Fruits are also a non issue – those are also always included throughout the day. I made a shopping list that hubs so wonderfully and willingly took with him to the supermarket. I made a huge pot of Spicy Carrot and other Vegetables soup (I had some veggies that were approaching the end of their life cycle so I threw them in) and will have that during the week in the afternoon (or at lunch) instead of cup-a-soup. I am also making some Kamut and that will be added to the soup for a source of protein and bulking up.
I am making some hummus also tomorrow and will have that for my sandwich portion of the lunch this week, along with avocado and sun-dried (not in oil) or even regular tomatoes.
Basically, I’m putting it out there and I’m doing it. No more excuses. Time to get my crap together and my ass in gear.
Wow, you have a busy week ahead of you. I am not sure if I could do all that! (Especially all the working out, kudos to you.)
I’ve been meaning to make spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs for a while now, since Aly posted the recipe at her blog (myjunewedding.wordpress.com).
spaghetti with mini meat balls is one of our favourites! Hubs took the recipe from Jamie Oliver and then adapted it to be more WW friendly :) I’ll check out Aly’s as well, maybe it’s really similar!
Planning meals ahead of time is what typically makes it or breaks it for me. Typically, we’ll plan our meals for the week on Sunday, do whatever shopping we need, and we’re set for the week. I usually just bring the previous night’s leftovers to lunch for work, and have something relatively quick and easy for breakfast in the morning, like oatmeal or hardboiled eggs. If I don’t do this planning ahead, my meals can go to crap pretty quickly.
We used to do this a long time ago Brandon and I think we started to get lazy again! Plus Hubs has been cooking Thai along with his Indian now, so he finds a recipe during the day that he wants to make and that’s what is for dinner that night. I asked him Friday though if he would be ok with planning for the week, as it was feeling a little out of control and he was totally down with it. So I planned, made the list and he did the shopping :) We never make enough for leftovers because we’ve also learned that we will both overeat! Planning ahead worked very well for me when I was still losing, maybe with this planning and sticking to it I may just see some changes??? (OK, how about I do this for a few weeks, that’s more realistic expectations, right?)
I really need to learn how to plan a week like this. If I had a plan to work toward, I’d probably find myself grazing on snacks less and definitely finding meals at Subway or Maccas, haha
Good luck with it!
yeah see you HAVE that fast food stuff around you, I don’t have much (a blessing! and TG I don’t like “maccas” it’s purely drunk/hangover food). Even when I want to be naughty I go to the cupboards and there’s nothing but healthy stuff in there! and if you are finding yourself in a position where you are eating alone, you can always just make one or two meals in advance and keep them in the fridge. We do this too if we manage to not scarf the whole meal down; Hubs needs at least one pre-made meal for school nights and lately one additional one for study nights (where he goes to his study partner’s place).
It’s very interesting to see how you plan your week but that’s also what works for me ! When I don’t plan, I can easily go crazy (esp. when stress starts coming in).
Good luck with getting your crap together. *lol*
Like I said myself, at some point, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”.
thanks! and you are right. what is it WW says “If you FAIL to PLAN, you PLAN to FAIL”. too right!
Which night can I come over for dinner? Jummie! You sure are going to eat great next week.
I live with the hub for 16 years by the end of this month and since the beginning I do meal planning. I started doing it because I hate grocery shopping and don’t want to spend anymore time than once a week on it. I don’t want to think about what we’re going to eat at the end of a busy work day and I work 36 hours a week and don’t want to go to the supermarket after work.
I plan my workouts 4 weeks ahead in my schedule. Appointments that are already in my schedule, I plan my workouts around them. Appointments that I add within the next 4 weeks I try to fit around my workout plans or adjust the workout plans.
However: both the meal planning and the workout planning doesn’t mean I always stick to it. I drop a meal now and then and get take out and I do skip a workout now and then and don’t catch up on it later in the week. But in general it helps me a lot.
haha! which night do you want to come over Fran? You are always welcome!
wow you plan your workouts too! what a great idea! I am seriously going to consider that. I want to take my health a little bit more seriously and making appointments with myself is a good way to do that.
I never have time to shop after work, I’m only at home around 7pm. Hubs does the shopping and the cooking mostly. BUT he will get whatever I say should be on the list (but it has to be on the list – and this is a good thing, I always come home with extra stuff I don’t need!) and he always cooks in a WW friendly way. If we ever get to a point where I’m not commuting 20+ hours a week I would like to cook more and continue planning, maybe even cooking more on Sunday so meals are ready.
Euh … every night? :)
I never made meals in the weekend. I see a lot of people do that and wish I could but I don’t want to cook all Sunday. I usually choose meals that cost no more than 30 minutes to prepare on weekdays. On Sunday I either make soup with bread (easy) or cook a meal that takes longer to prepare.
My blog (and my life, haha) needs this post too! I am running Tuesday and Thursday as well. Ask me about it, please. :)